Trump's Dementia Test Results and Why He Can't Stop Talking About It

Summary

IHIP News Podcast: “Trump's Dementia Test Results and Why He Can't Stop Talking About It”

Date: December 13, 2025
Hosts: Jennifer Welch & Angie “Pumps” Sullivan

---

Episode Overview

This episode dives into former President Donald Trump's repeated claims about acing his cognitive tests, examining what his obsession with these “results” may actually reveal. Jennifer and Pumps bring their signature sharp, comedic commentary to break down Trump’s rants, what cognitive testing actually measures, and why his fixation is so telling. They also discuss the alarming passivity of Republican leaders, the broader consequences for American democracy, and reflect on what it means to witness such a bizarre era in political history.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Obsession with His Cognitive Exams

• Jennifer unpacks Trump’s constant public boasting about acing his cognitive tests, arguing that the very persistence and volume of these claims suggest insecurity and likely failure ([00:49]):
  • “He will not stop talking about it... he, quote, aced his cognitive test. He’s a high IQ. The doctors have never seen anything like it…which tells me he has in fact taken the cognitive test and he’s failed the cognitive test multiple times.”
• Jennifer’s theory is that Trump’s public language often reveals the very things he is most insecure or defensive about.
• Sample Trump post on social media (read by Jennifer) lists a litany of self-congratulation on everything from military success to “boring medical exams” ([01:41]).
• Notable quote (Jennifer):
  • “If I woke up one morning and you had sent me a text message like that, I would call your kids and I would say, we need to get your mother somewhere. Something severely wrong with her.” ([05:41])

2. Cognitive Testing as Evidence of Decline

• Pumps emphasizes that cognitive exams are given for a reason ([05:51]):
  • “They are monitoring his cognitive decline. They don’t just for sh*ts and giggles give you a cognitive test every time you go in. So there is no doubt in my mind he’s been diagnosed with dementia and that they are now monitoring how bad.”
• The hosts joke about Trump’s late-night posting sprees as additional evidence:
  • “If I texted 180 times in one evening like he did…he needs to be put in a straight jacket.” ([05:51])

3. The Actual Cognitive Test: “Hard Work” or Basic Screening?

• Jennifer and Pumps go through the test Trump brags about ([07:27]):
  • Jennifer mockingly describes the “hard work” Trump claims to put in—pointing out the test is essentially drawing lines between numbers and letters, naming animals, etc.
  • Comic Moment: Pumps jokes about fumbling the animal-naming task herself ([08:22]):
    • “Horse lion deck or horse tiger deck.”
    • Jennifer laughs: “Shut up... Oh my god. Kylie you can’t cut that out. You have to leave it. Pumps, you’re so cute. Yeah, he flunked.” ([08:32])
  • Both agree the test is not difficult and that Trump’s “work” is laughable, further questioning his mental acuity.

4. The Media, Republican Cowardice, and the 25th Amendment

• Critique of Republican leaders who refuse to challenge Trump despite obvious red flags ([09:26]):
  • “These cowardice Republicans would rather resign and retire...than do anything about it.”
• Supreme Court and institutional collapse: Jennifer discusses the feeling of foreboding watching checks and balances seemingly erode ([10:24]):
  • “There are times...we both remark about how daunting it is. Sometimes you have this foreboding feeling how quickly they're moving to break everything and how little the people that actually have power…don't do it.”
• Both agree: the bar for accountability is “nowhere near far enough,” and the invocation of the 25th Amendment is long overdue.

5. Authoritarian Drift, Tech Oligarchs, and AI

• Jennifer connects current trends to broader authoritarian playbooks, outlining the danger of big tech embedding itself in government and military ([10:44]):
  • “The deep state that he was talking about that didn’t exist. He’s created it now.”
• Pumps adds that efforts to block AI regulation expose the real intentions ([11:39]):
  • “He is the deep state...Now Trump is trying to make it where the states can’t regulate [AI]...They want to [operate] with reckless abandon.”

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jennifer: “If I woke up one morning and you had sent me a text message like that, I would call your kids and say, we need to get your mother somewhere... Something severely wrong with her.” ([05:41])

• Pumps: "They don’t just for sh*ts and giggles give you a cognitive test every time you go in. So there is no doubt in my mind he’s been diagnosed with dementia..." ([05:51])

• Jennifer (on President's ‘hard work’): “He’s saying like, basically I’m having to do all this work to take all these tests because they’re so hard.” ([07:27])

• Classic banter:

  • Jennifer: “You flunked this, Jennifer.”
  • Pumps: “Oh my god. Kylie you can’t cut that out. You have to leave it, Pumps, you’re so cute. Yeah, he flunked.”_ ([08:32])

• On 25th Amendment:

  • Jennifer: “This is a 25th amendment time. And we can just say that out into the Internet, Pumps. Nobody’s going to do anything about it. These cowardice Republicans would rather resign and retire…”_ ([09:26])

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Trump’s social media rant and host reaction: [00:49] – [05:41]
• Cognitive testing and late-night posting as evidence of decline: [05:51] – [06:25]
• Making fun of the cognitive test’s simplicity: [07:27] – [09:25]
• Institutional critique and authoritarian warning: [10:16] – [11:39]
• AI regulation loophole discussion: [11:39] – [12:10]
• Show wrap-up and comic callback to animal test: [12:19] – [12:31]

---

Tone & Style

Jennifer and Pumps’ approach is irreverent, biting, and often darkly comic. Their banter keeps heavy political analysis accessible and relatable, using humor and personal anecdotes to underscore the stakes of Trump’s behavior for American democracy.

---

Takeaway

The hosts argue that Trump’s relentless self-promotion around cognitive testing is itself a loud admission of decline. They highlight the worrying reluctance of institutional gatekeepers to act, underscore dangers posed by tech-business and regulatory capture, and urge listeners to recognize the deep seriousness beneath the absurd headlines.

Transcript

[Pacific Life Announcer]

What can 160 years of experience teach you about the future? When it comes to protecting what matters, Pacific Life provides life insurance, retirement income and employee benefits for people and businesses building a more confident tomorrow. Strategies rooted in strength and backed by experience. Ask a financial professional how Pacific Life can help you today. Pacific Life Insurance Company Omaha, Nebraska and in New York, Pacific Life and Annuity, Phoenix, Arizona.

[VRBO Advertiser]

Save over $200 when you book weekly. Stays with VRBO this winter. If you haven't seen your college besties since, well, college, you need a week to catch up in a snowy cabin. Take a week long vacation and save over $200. Book [e-mail].

[Jennifer]

Trump will not shut up about his cognitive test. He will not stop talking about it. He volunteers the information all the time that he, quote, aced his cognitive test. He's a high iq. The doctors have never seen anything like it. And a lot of this is unprompted. It's nonstop talking about a cognitive test, which tells me he has in fact taken the cognitive test and he's failed the cognitive test multiple times. I also have a theory that at some point during an all pulling an all nighter on Adderall and Twitter, he got, you know, an ad thing, take an IQ test. And I think he took an IQ test and I think it's below 100 because that's now he uses all this language, low IQ person, low IQ person and low IQ person. And Trump has this thing like once he's failed at something, he can't shut up about it. He tries to mask it, mask it, mask it, mask it, mask it so we can look as to what the truth is by what he denies or proclaims all the time. So a couple of nights ago he posts this banger on lie social. There's never been a president that has worked as hard as me. My hours are the longest and my results are among the best. I've stopped eight wars, saving millions of lives in the process, created the greatest economy in the history of our country, brought business back into the United States at levels never seen before, rebuilt our military, created the largest tax cuts and regulation cuts ever, closed our open and very dangerous southern border when previous administrations were unable to do so, and created an aura around the United States of America that has led every country in the world to respect us more than ever before. In addition to all of that, I go out of my way to do a long, thorough and very boring medical examinations at the great Walter Reed National Military Medical center, seen and supervised by top doctors all of whom have given me perfect marks. Some have even said they've never seen such capitalized, strong results. I do these capitalized tests because I owe it to our country. In addition to the medical. I have done something that no other president has done on three separate occasions. The last one being recently by taking what is known as the cognitive examination. Something which few people would be able to do very well, including those that work at the New York Times. Times. I love them. Catching strays in this. Yeah. And I aced all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know. Like. Like, hey, look, I didn't have to convince these people, right? Wait, let me see. Where despite all of this, the time and work involved the New York Times and some others like to pretend that I'm, quote, slowing up and maybe not as sharp as I once was or am in poor physical health, knowing that it is not true and knowing that I work very hard, probably harder than I've ever worked before. I will know when I am, quote, slowing up. But it. It's. But it's not now. After all of the work I have done with the medical exams, cognitive exams, and everything else, I actually believe it's seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for the New York Times and others to consistently do fake reports in order to libel and demean. Quote, caps. Lock The President of the United States. They are true enemies of the people and we should do something about it. They have inaccurately reported on all of my election results and. He's so insane. Okay. All of my election results. And in fact, were forced to apologize on much of what they wrote. The best thing that could happen to this country would be if the New York Times would cease publication because they are horrible, biased and untruthful source of information. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Make America great again. So here's what this means, viewer. 100% he has failed. Yes, the cognitive exams. There's no question about it. And because anybody who exposes a secret that makes him look weak, he wants them to. They need to just cease publication. He's calling them an enemy of the state. In any other country, in any other planet, any other place. Pumps. If I woke up one morning and you had sent me a text message like that, I would call your kids and I would say, we need to get your mother somewhere we. Something severely wrong with her. We've got a massive problem here.

[Pumps]

What about If I texted 180 times in one evening like he did, like a couple weeks ago. I had to take notes that was so jam packed full of crazy. I had to write down. Okay, he's talking about how he's taken different cognitive tests. We all know what that means. They are monitoring his cognitive decline. They don't just for shits and giggles give you a cognitive test every time you go in. So there is no doubt in my mind he's been diagnosed with dementia and that they are now monitoring how bad.

[Jennifer]

It'S going to be.

[Pumps]

And then you go to the hand thing that hasn't cleared up. And here's the thing. All the evidence of him being in cognitive decline is because he's on video all the time. Nothing. I mean, it doesn't take a rocket scientist, okay? And then I will agree. He says it's the best economy in the world. Really? You have not released job reports, inflation numbers, GDP numbers because you know how bad it sucks. The one thing he has done is he has gutted consumer protections and he has decreed in decreased taxes for billionaires. So that was the one true part. And then for him who sat there sleepy crooked Joe Biden, according to his logic, Fox News should be shut down because Epstein files are being released and Fox is talking about was Joe Biden in cognitive decline? Because they can't talk about how crazy this man is. So he needs to be put in a straight jacket. And I'm going to say it. I've been saying it since 2016. They need to take his phone for sundowner hour. This is just not a good look for him.

[Jennifer]

Okay, so you know my favorite part of that? Kelly put this up. He says after all of the work I have done with the medical exams, cognitive exams and everything else after all of the work. Okay. So he's saying like, basically like I'm having to do all this work to take all these tests because they're so hard. So now I want to share with you the cognitive test that he has been bragging about acing. Kylie, pop this up. Okay. The Vision Visuospatial Executive. You start with 1a. You draw a line. The correlating letter number 2b, 3c. So he aced that. And then you copy this bed. Okay. Then you draw a clock and then you do naming. It says naming and puns. Let's see if you can do the animals from left to right.

[Pumps]

Horse lion deck or horse tiger deck.

[Jennifer]

Here's the thing.

[Pumps]

Sorry, I was thinking, you know, my glasses.

[Jennifer]

Shut up.

[Pumps]

I'm not the President of the United States. He flunked this, Jennifer.

[Jennifer]

Oh my God. Kylie you can't cut that out. You have to leave it pups. You're so cute. Yeah, he flunked. Goes on to memory, attention, language abstraction, delayed recall and like orientation. And so you know, people that are advanced age, like tanks and pumps, you know, these kind of things happen. You fail the naming part. But I just think like this is what he's bragging about. And honestly the New York Times, whatever they've written about it is true. But it's not far enough.

[Pumps]

That's not far enough.

[Jennifer]

Nobody has gone far enough on this. That was from. I got that. I snagged that cognitive exam from Zateo News. And you constantly find independent media that are really, really socking it to him as. And giving the American public the truth. This is what he's bragging about. This is his. This is what he's spent so much time and hard work doing is that naming animals test. And so I just think this is a 25th amendment time. And we can just say that out into the Internet Pumps. Nobody's going to do anything about it. These cowardice Republicans would rather resign and retire, which is such. What? Yeah, it's such.

[Pumps]

You don't have any balls and you're elected to do a job, but you are just going to pack up and go home because you don't want dear leader to be mad.

[Jennifer]

What cowards. It's really, it's really depressing. The Supreme Court is worthless. It's just a really. There are times, listener, viewer, where Pumps and I will talk on the phone sometimes after we film for the day and we both remark about how daunting it is. And sometimes just you have this foreboding feeling how quickly they're moving to break everything and how little the people that actually have power that could do something to save our country don't do it. Then I start reading into it. And if you really read a lot of these authoritarian experts, the point is to. To make the United States less powerful and to been the knee to China and Russia. And it's just really overwhelming. It's a really, really overwhelming time in American history. And then you find out that like all of these tech oligarchs. Pumps. I talked to Pumps last night on the phone. I read this article on Substack. They're like embedded in the federal government already in the US Military and all of these things. And so the deep state that he was talking about that didn't exist. He's created it now.

[Pumps]

Oh, absolutely. He is the deep state. He. He is the one. And here, here's the thing about all this is you have all this AI stuff coming and now Trump is trying to make it where the states can't regulate it. We know under him the federal government's not going to regulate it, but he wants to keep the states from doing it. And that just tells you all this is true. Yeah. They don't want anybody looking over their shoulder. They want to with people with reckless abandon.

[Jennifer]

Yeah. All right, that's all we have. A great little last minute stocking stuffer. Fire book life. Oh, look at. There's our model.

[Pumps]

You're never going to let me forget the lion tiger thing.

[Jennifer]

Oh, never. That's a, that's a. That's so great that you failed the same exam that Trump.

[Pumps]

Trump fails.

[Jennifer]

Yeah. Buy our book before pup's mental decline gets even worse. Okay, this is the time to support pumps. You guys subscribe like and comment. We don't know. We don't know how much longer Meemaw is going to be with us. You guys, with that cognitive fail live on our YouTube channel. All right, bye.

[VRBO Advertiser]

Did you know you can opt out of winter with VRBO? Save up to $1,500 for booking a month long stay. When thousands of sunny homes are waiting for you, why subject yourself to the cold? Put the snow shovel down, put the parka back in the closet and don't you dare scrape another windshield. Slip into some flip flops, consider a sunless tan and use the monthly stays filter to save up to $1,500. Book your warm [e-mail].